The Long Journey of 'The Long Night': Tim Matsui's work to document underage sex trafficking in the US

The Long Journey of 'The Long Night'

17 year old 'Natalie,' a survivor of domestic minor sex trafficking, now lives in the Southwest with her parents, Nacole and Tom, where they relocated after surviving the ordeal.

In Tim Matsui's film, 'The Long Night,' a police officer estimates that there are between 100,000 to 300,000 underage sex workers active in the United States alone. Armed for the most part with only a DSLR and a homemade audio setup, Matsui has dedicated years to following two young women. During the course of the film, 'Natalie,' a girl who found herself coerced into a life of prostitution at only 15 years old, recovers from her situation with the help of her family, while another woman - Lisa - continues to languish as an addict on the streets of Seattle.

The documentary explores the topic from several perspectives; the police, caseworkers and families as well as the girls themselves, and many of the characters in the film are shockingly open with Matsui's camera.

The Long Night was completed as a feature more than a year ago, but Matsui continues to devote his energies to getting the project seen and raising awareness of the twin problems of teenage runaways and sex trafficking. The film has already won several accolades including First Place Long Form Documentary Feature in the 2015 World Press Photo competition as well as POYi Documentary Project of the Year.

We've been speaking to Tim about The Long Night and you can learn more about the project in our in-depth Q&A which starts on the next page. Our questions are in yellow.

sex trading and drugs are connected firmly to each other, those kids don't do that to eat, but to buy drugs, so it is impossible to find a solution without solving the drug problem first, all those kids are working like slaves for drug dealers. whatever they get goes to their pockets.But why kids addict to drugs first? it is simple, they are not satisfied with their life, so they run away from reality, and drugs help them to live in a fantastic world, drug and sex market is like a wound in humans community, where the bacterias are happy, which are drug dealers and sex customers.But how to help those victims? It is not something new, it exists from the begging of humanity, but how bad is it in our generation? it is very bad, I read a report about this problem in England and it says %50 of women do that in one stage of their life, so there is something going wrong with the whole humanity, in my humble opinion the problem lies in ignoring our spiritual needs.

So many adolescent girls/boys who end up on the street suffer from undiagnosed mental illnesses. In some cases an adolescent's anxiety is exacerbated by living in a toxic domestic environment. Mentally stable children do not take to the streets. They are not compelled to flee from the safety of their homes/families. Unfortunately mental illness is stigmatized. So it's easy to see why the symptoms (e.g. running away and prostituting to survive) are discussed rather than facing the dismal state of mental healthcare and outreach in our society. These runaways are doing the best they can to survive--unfortunately a scared kid out on the street has few choices for survival: selling drugs, stealing, and prostitution. There are a lot of horrible adults who recognize these troubled souls. Their predatory instincts are acute.

The underage kids are running away from something: their families, their school life, or lack of a positive experience in those areas. Then they choose to sell sex to survive.A major part of solving these problems is to support struggling families, and to have resources in schools to deal with kids who are having trouble. Once the kids are on the street the focus changes to what is essentially a symptom: selling sex to survive while running away from the source of their problems.

^^ agree Steven.. but the problem is that schools can only do so much (if these kids even remain in school). Our system is broken in that we can only provide so many resources to struggling families... most try to make a better life.. but many just bleed the system and find ways to take, take and take without even attempting to better themselves (or loophole the system to take even when they don't need to). No easy solution I fear....

Many? Not really. It's statistically proven that those who try to scam the system are a very small minority. But, of course, if you listen to Limbaugh, Hannity and other heartless conservative pigs, every poor person, especially if a minority, is a criminal out to steal from what God gave to the white people.

Nope, that's what republicans say, but it's completely false. They also say that poor people and minorities are responsible for voter fraud on a massive scale, and yet a recent government investigation only found evidence of about 50 suspicious attempts and a dozen of convictions in an entire decade. And that, of course, also includes Ann Coulter, who routinely voted twice. It's part of the GOP's perennial war on the poor.

I agree with you that religion is at the root of many issues, when it comes to human sexuality. But that's beside the point.

As for your question, I reply with one myself: have you ever been to Las Vegas? Legalizing prostitution didn't solve anything, it's still run by mobsters, it's still exploiting and degrading women, child prostitution is rampant. Legalizing prostitution implies accepting that women are nothing more than sex objects for men to rent and have fun with.

Blame religion ? How about the moral decline of society. Religion (regardless of your beliefs) is about family, community, love, and respect for one another, now what we have is a very liberal society which embraces drugs and sex. A society which was once about family is now fixisted on transsexuals. A society that was once about the victim of a crime is now a society that sympathizes with the criminal. You only have to read the news to see a dangerous pattern emerging. What people are touting as progression in a modern society in reality is a slow moral decline spiraling out of control. The things that make us strong, the values that kept us unified are decaying.

Oh yeah, blame it all on LGBT's, just like that nutcase Jerry Falwell did with 911. And I bet you agree... I also bet you're mad that we have a black president. Yep, Christians are such "good souls"... (eyeroll)

The only good thing about the years we're living is that conservative dinosaurs like you are finally facing serious extinction in America.

Watson076, I couldn't agree more. We are society hell bent on self destruction. The good thing about legalizing drugs (which I am for) is more and more of these people will destroy themselves, so we will have less of them in the gene pool, darwinisim at its best :)

Before anyone says anything about this article please watch the movie first. I just finished watching it and makes me want to something to better humanity. Human trafficking and prostitution is not only an American problem. It is a problem worldwide. I think we need everyone involved to something worthwhile about it though. Technically the cinematography is not perfect but I think it adds to the story. The sound and editing are good. This is a story told from four different perspectives and as such it is hard to make the flow go smoothly. I think this is why the film is shown in segments instead. The camera and lens used to tell this story aren't important compared to the story the director is trying to tell.

You have a lot of deep seeded hatred my friend. You also love to make sweeping general statements. Maybe bed bug can help me understand how the young women in this documentary were "victimized" by the police? Serious question. I already know what Papi's answer will be, so no need to reply.

How so? I feel so inferior conversing with someone so enlightened. Is it a burden to carry so much hatred? Maybe that big lens in your profile pic is a metaphor for that hatred? Just sayin...although I think I probably just proved another one of your "points".

It saddens me to see all the mud slinging that this posting evokes amongst us.I firmly believe that DPR wanted to expose the long, hard work of a dedicated photographer. His cause deserves our admiration. As for the ethical or moral issues that his work raises, well, I read once somewhere that an individual's work can only go as far as to cause an impact on society, but it won't change it. That's the hard truth. Prostitution, be it in minors or in adults. has many roots at its origin, but only one common denominator: Perdition. Not moral, nor religious, but the wasted life of the prostitute.

Just a couple of suggestions for DPreview. Instead of randomly putting articles that has very little to do with the reviewing of photo equipments, perhaps you can try to do something most Japanese photo magazines do: making direct comparison between lenses. There is a Japanese book store nearly where I live. They have photo magazines from Japan (all written in Japanese), not that I can read them...they actually take lenses of the similar focal length and shot photos of the same subject (outdoors) and let readers compare the differences in performance of each lens. Photozone did something similar, but under studio lighting. Just a thought....

Seems like a weird place to leave this feedback. This article isn't 'random', we've been following Tim's work for some time and have featured him on the site before. We are a photography site. Not everything we post is directly related to reviewing hardware (and it never has been).

@BB - Thank you for the clarification. I do get the impression that reviewing hardware has been your main focus... Anyhow, what do you think of my suggestions about putting photos that make direct comparison between lenses from various makers?

@BB - Yes, I did look at that review on the wide-zooms review, and it was good! You mentioned that doing it well is time-consuming; however, the info is very valuable to readers. If I was to purchase one of those wide-zooms, it would help me making informed decisions. These are not cheap lenses...I wouldn't mind waiting a little longer for authentic reviews instead of some general ones...

Ok, Giklab, let's agree to disagree. Because I for one consider this whole story off-topic for the site. And yes, this is just IMHO; yes, I don't "own" this site, etc. etc. etc.

I just happen to dislike yellowish stuff like "photographing domestic violence", or "photog captures last moment of a guy to be killed by coming subway train"; and I try to get my point across whenever I have an opportunity.

@ Teddy - you do not remember it correctly... DPReview has always hosted industry and gear news alongside reviews, busy forums on photographic as well as gear-related topics, user galleries of PHOTOGRAPHS and in the past few years (like - at least five years), an increasing number of photographic portfolio and technique articles.

Barney, then there are at least two of us not remembering it correctly, because about the only photos -- besides those of gear -- that come to mind when I think of DPR's early years (I joined in 2006 and was lurking for years before that) are those of Tower Bridge that was Phil's primary test scene.

That said, I'd definitely appreciate galleries that illustrate something, teach something *photographic*. I'm by far not a gearhead; e.g. I purchased video course on composition from Tim Cooper recently, and would definitely appreciate this sort of stuff on DPR.

But these controversies that you publish every now and then? They just bring yellowish tint to DPR, which has always been a respected source of information for me.

While I applaud DPReview for highlighting this story and photojournalism in general, would it be crass to ask whether DPR paid anything to Tim or any of the organisations related to this in return for publishing the work? I ask because I'm curious as to how the modern photojournalism model is meant to work. I mean, this article is on a site which promotes consumer products so presumably content such as this is designed to draw in readership in much the same way picture stories in newspapers and magazines do. I'd love to know the answer to this.

I must admit I'm a little surprised by that opening assumption but rest assured - no money changed hands. We're a photography site and this is a feature about a photographer doing something that we think is worthwhile and of interest. Simple as that.

What if they just like edgy photojournalism and believe this is an issue that more people should be aware of? Not everybody is a diehard greedy cynic... I think that it took courage for the editors to bring us this story, because the reaction of those who want this site to be just another one where test charts are discussed was predictable and could actually hurt their bottom line (I hope it doesn't and that more reasonable minds prevail...)

The reason I asked is because photojournalists struggle to make ends meet because every site will give some 'plausible' argument as to why they won't pay for content. It's very good to see this kind of content on DPR, but I'd have hoped they would at least have offered to make a donation to one of the foundations Tim is involved with, if not to Tim himself. Of course I can't speak on Tim's behalf, but I can stand up for photojournalism and express my views.

Great stories like this don't just happen and it's not cynical in the least to expect users of the stories to pay, regardless of whether or not I'm a diehard greedy cynic. This is how new photojournalism gets to be undertaken. Isn't it more cynical to take advantage of someone's need to get a story out there? Tim hints in the article about the financial sacrifice he had to make. Maybe this exposure will induce someone else to pay for publication, but since the story can't be offered on first rights basis anymore, I doubt it.

The only real solution to this is to legalize (and therefore regulate) prostitution in the state. That way, instead of keeping all of it illegal, we could keep only the truly horrible parts of it illegal, and get the government out of the sex lives of consenting adults aged 18+ (or better yet, 21+, since kids are really stupid at 18). That way, there would be an easy, legal choice for the johns, and sex workers would be protected (and tested for STDs).

Not too sure about that. Prostitution is virtually legal in Nevada (through a legal loophole, I'm aware of that) and yet child prostitution is still present there, and in increasing numbers. Besides, prostitution is inherently immoral, commercially exploitative, empowering the criminal underworld, and promoting the repression of women by men. We can definitely do better than making it a normal part of society.

No, prostitution is not "inherently immoral." Human trafficking and slavery is immoral. Exploiting people who have no other choice is immoral. Criminal acts that may surround prostitution may be immoral. A consenting adult who willfully participates in prostitution is not immoral.

Goods and/or services are exchanged for other goods and/or services. Typically this is cold, hard cash. Although cash is inedible and subject to fluctuations in value, it remains the most versatile of assets, accepted anywhere within one's own country by legal mandate.

Many people perform unpleasant, degrading jobs day after day, night after night, exchanging their time for regular reimbursements of cash. Some might even choose prostitution over working graveyard shifts in convenience stores, as these jobs come with comparable safety risks but prostitution can offer better pay.

"prostitution is inherently immoral"

You are free to hold and express your own opinions, but you are not free to present them as facts. You are not an arbiter of truth.

Agree, get your health check, get a license and run your business. An adult is free to trade anything he/she wants, even his/her own body. The only immoral thing here is the government violent intervention in a free trade conducted by adult parties.

It's funny how right-wingers always knee-jerk react by accusing others of what they're accused. You tell them that they're racist (because they behave and talk as such), and the first thing they do is accuse you of being a racist.

Children are special in that they are not legally held 100% accountable for their actions. The law recognises that children aren't necessarily mentally fully-developed, and can make mistakes. The law acknowledges that they are not yet in full control of their lives and accords them fewer responsibilities.

I read your replies above and I don't see your point, if you have one. You meandered around, erecting strawmen and slinging ad hominem accusations at the same. Misogynist, racist, right-winger. Photogeek and I are arguing here for women's rights to do whatever they wish with their bodies. Freedom of choice for all (adults). Your fine accusations are simply inapplicable. The words "not only not right, but not even wrong" come to mind.

It's amazing that the people who ostensibly don't want others to make a big deal of DR, make a big deal of DR. We, OTOH, often limit its discussion to 1 page of our multi (often 15 or more) page reviews.

I actually applaud you for bringing this do DPR. Photojournalism is very much a spotlight on society and it should raise awareness and discussion. You don't want to be just another site where people limit the discussion to how sharp a lens is.

Your recent poll asked people to choose between DR and resolution--a false choice, since resolution is already more than adequate for most applications. It's great that Sony has more dynamic range, and maybe pointing it out will give Canon a nudge. But the emphasis leaves the impression that cameras without a Sony sensor are somehow unusable. The same thing happens when people read that DxO gave one camera a 92 and the other an 87.

Why bring gear into the discussion? That's way off the mark!This said I too applaud DPR for showing us this. The US have a great tradition of gathering public awareness of social issues through photography. Think Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Lewis Hine et al. It's quite moving to think photography has a role in building a better society.

@abrasivereducer - the poll actually asked you to rank those criteria in order of importance to you - there's no 'false choice' because we're not asking you to make a binary selection. We're just interested in what people think.

You don't get irony do you Rishi? The point I made was that the old 5D2 which most here bash for it's banding and lack of DR makes a perfectly good photographic tool. It's not my fault too many people whinge about the 5D2's lack of DR & IQ. And no, I don't think a PHOTO GEAR site is the place for these pics.

Yes, bigdaddave, I have 'actually' seen the name of this site and it is DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY REVIEW (sorry for the shouting). I don't know what part of 'photography' you've missed, but the concept of 'photography' is, however hard it might be for you to comprehend it, much broader than gear.

Survival comes before the rule of law. I wish more wealthy citizens would fully understand this. If you don't provide for the basic survival (physical and mental) and well being of an individual, they will in turn have no regard for your legislation. Prison is not a deterrent when you have no food to eat. It's an ancient concept. Stealing a loaf of bread to avoid starvation is a moral act.

You cannot legislate (ban underage sex trafficing) your way out of this problem because the issue is not one where the rule of law applies. It's a socioeconomic problem.

The real problem is that most people in America have the mind of a 5-year-old and see the world as made of "goodies and baddies." No compassion whatsoever for the "baddies" and the "goodies" are always heroes, even when they drone foreign kids to death or carry out massacres in the middle east (well, don't you know that over there even little kids are terrorists? That happens when they worship the wrong God!!)

Trying to make them see the infinite shades of gray in between is often impossible...

What I have seen/read from watching similar documentaries on the subject, is not so much an issue of "survival because the government didn't provide me with food." So much as it is "survival after an individual/group of individuals stole me and forced me (physically/psychologically) into this situation."

Simply put, kids aren't voluntarily getting involved in the human trafficking scene because they are hungry.

This isn't about either of those things. Human trafficking in America doesn't fall along social or economic lines. Usually it starts by young individuals making poor choices (think - going to meet this guy I've fallen in love with over the internet for a weekend in Vegas) and then promptly getting in way over their head to the point that they are too embarrassed/psychologically battered to call their parents/law enforcement for help.

You quip about Americans being too dim to appreciate nuances more than good and bad, but in almost 100% of the cases trafficking occurs because of very bad people doing some very black and white things (with absolutely no shades of gray) to other people.

For anyone that has the misplaced notion that this has to do with our government not giving people free food, or Americans not being able to see "shades of gray," I highly recommend watching the documentary "Tricked" which is available streaming on Netflix.

"embarassed/psychologically battered to call their parents/law enforcement for help" does express part of the problem. Children leave home for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it's to avoid abuse. Others it's because of trama or mental instability. Regardless, the individual does not have the social support to survive on their own. The cycle of poverty is not new and is not broken by victim blaming.

It is irresponsible to expect these kids are exposed to these situations by their own failings. Exerting independence should not mean having to reach out to illegal sources for food and shelter. They fall into this trap because they need to eat, they need to survive, and for whatever reason feel alone. That's a socioeconomic issue.

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